This is my favorite game on Super Nintendo and the first roleplaying game I ever played. In 1995, this was the second best-selling game in Japan and over the years, it has been ported to the PlayStation and the Nintendo DS. Taking all ports into account, this game has sold 3.5 million copies. This game is Chrono Trigger on the Super Nintendo. GameFAQs rated this game as the best game on Super Nintendo. So what is so great about Chrono Trigger?
One difference between Chrono Trigger and other roleplaying games like Final Fantasy is the overworld. In Final Fantasy, you could run into random encounters at any time. In Chrono Trigger, you see where the enemies are and if you don’t touch an enemy and you pass by, you can avoid fights. If you do avoid fights, you could end up weaker against a boss than you would be if you fought every enemy so I wouldn’t skip any fights although the option is there.
One similarity to Final Fantasy is during fights, you do have to wait for a bar to fill up before you can act. When your bar has filled, you can either do a normal attack, do a special attack if you have magic points (MP) available, or use an item. If the same party fights together long enough, the characters can learn dual attacks or a triple attack which will be possible if two or three characters have their bars filled up at the same time.
When there are shops nearby, you are going to want to check out the weapons and armor in each shop. When you have the cursor next to a weapon or some kind of armor and a character at the bottom is reacting like jumping up and down, the person can use that item. If it’s a weapon, look at the top number below a character reacting. If that number is in blue, that means your character’s attacks will be stronger with that weapon. If the number is in gray, it means your attacks will be weaker with that weapon. If it’s something like a vest, the same applies to the characters reacting except you pay attention to the bottom number below the characters reacting. If there is an E next to any of the characters, it means the characters with an E next to them already have that specific item equipped.
The game is very easy at the beginning. The game will get harder but by the time the game presents a real challenge, you will have had the chance to level up, learn more powerful attacks, and get better equipment to protect you against attacks. So the difficulty won’t turn anyone off in the beginning but the difficulty of the game does get tougher as you continue into the game.
The controls are great. There is nothing I would change about the controls. All the controls work well and there is nothing complicated to pull off. So there is nothing that needs to be changed about the controls.
You start as Crono in the year 1000 A.D. You are going to the millenial fair and you bump into a girl named Marle. Marle asks to let her accompany you around because she doesn’t know anyone. You went to the Millenial fair to support your friend Lucca and her father by checking out their new invention. Their inventions usually explode but the Telepod teleported Crono from the left pod to the right pod. When Marle wants to try it out, her pendant affects the machine and Marle ends up lost in time. The pendant is left behind so Crono grabs the pendant to follow where Marle ended up. When Crono gets to the castle, Crono is heckled until the queen tells them to treat Crono with respect because Crono is her guest. When Crono talks to the queen in private, the queen reveals she is your friend Marle then after a couple of minutes of talking, Marle disappears right before your eyes. As you are about to leave the castle, Lucca catches up to you and reveals that Marle is a descendant of Queen Leene. In the original history, Queen Leene was kidnapped but rescued. When Marle showed up to the castle not knowing where she was, the search for Queen Leene was called off. With the search called off, Queen Leene would not survive and any descendants of Queen Leene would never be born. Lucca says if you and Crono can still rescue the queen, then Marle may return safely. So Crono and Lucca check out the cathedral next door and meet Frog who is also searching for the Queen. After going through the cathedral, you can rescue the queen if you defeat the monster masquerading as the chancellor.
After rescuing the queen, Marle reappears where she disappeared and the three of you return to your time and you bring Marle to her castle. You get accused of kidnapping Marle and trying to overthrow the kingdom. Whether or not you get found innocent or guilty, you are ordered to be executed. After you break out or Lucca saves you, when you escape Marle orders the servants trying to catch you to stop before running off with you and Lucca. You get cornered but find a portal you can use to escape. When it comes down to using the mysterious portal or being captured, you use the portal and end up in a post-apocalyptic world. You find a robot in one of the domes and Lucca can restore him to working condition. After Robo is fixed, he tries to open the door in the dome you found him but it’s impossible. You have to go to the factory up north to turn the power on but the power won’t stay on long so someone will have to stay at the dome to open the door when the power turns on. After you turn the power on, the facility’s security robots which are just like Robo but blue destroy Robo. When you fight off the robots, you bring the robot to the dome so Lucca can fix him. While Lucca is fixing Robo, you explain to Robo that you are trying to stop the apocalypse that happened in 1999. The next morning when Robo is fixed, he decides he wants to come with you to save the future since nothing is left for him in 2300. The four of you use the portal but you arrive at The End Of Time. At the end of time, you find out that you can only travel in groups of 3 or less. You also get directed to meet a creature in the next room who can grant party members respect. While there is much more story, that is the story in the first three hours of the game.
There are a couple of parts of the game that I do not like. When you meet the creature that will grant you magic, you have to walk around the room 3 times clockwise to be taught magic. You can’t even run this part or you will fail and have to do it over again. There is another part where you come across a rat that you think is a statue. You find out the rat is real and you have to catch it to learn the secret of the building you are in. The problem is if you chase the rat too long, he will run off screen and you will have to leave and re-enter that room.l It’s just as annoying as chasing the bunny in the basement of the castle in Super Mario 64.
I don’t think the graphics could be done any better. All the characters look different and unique as well as the different periods. I also love the screen when you travel to different periods. I also love the sound of the game. The music that plays during the game, especially during boss battles is really enjoyable to listen to. There is a lot of energy when listening to the music so there is nothing I would change about the sound.
I have played this game for 14 hours and still have not completed this game. Once you beat the game, you can play New Game + which means everything carries over but you play the game from the beginning except you can face Lavos at any time. Facing Lavos at different times is how you get the different endings. Even if you don’t care about different endings, the game will still take hours to complete the game the first time.
So the gameplay is a lot of fun and it’s pretty easy for a long time until you have had the chance to gain experience, level up, and earn new equipment. I have no problems with the controls. I like the story in the game and the fact that there are 15 different endings. I have no problems with the graphics or sound and the game does take a long time to beat and New Game + is the only way to achieve different endings. So I give Chrono Trigger on the Super Nintendo 9 out of 10. I hate trying to catch that rat and how you have to walk around the room clockwise to be granted the ability to learn magic like lightning, fire, and ice.
Chrono Trigger is pretty expensive on the Super Nintendo. Pricechating has the game priced at $231 for a loose cartridge. This game was released on the Nintendo DS but loose carts go for $80 according to Pricecharting. However, you can purchase Final Fantasy Chronicles for anywhere between $16-$34. Final Fantasy Chronicles has Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger on two separate PlayStation discs. Final Fantasy Chronicles would be the most affordable way to play Chrono Trigger. It’s a game you should play if you can.
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